Welcome to Indigo Inklings. This is where I talk about some of my rubber stamping projects and digital graphics. My blog name comes from the fact that I love the color indigo, and I think the notion of inklings covers my introspective side as well as my love for getting inky with my projects. I hope you find something here to interest or inspire you.

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

about the Sizzix crease pad

I've mentioned a couple of times now that my Sizzix crease pad has found new life in my crafting because it will simultaneously cut and emboss my Spellbinders Nestabilities dies. This is so much faster because it takes the process down to one pass through the machine. I use it in place of one of the clear cutting plates, and that's it. No embossing mat, no manipulating the die and die cut. Simple! I love it!

Now, the catch is that this will work in the Big Shot and the Big Kick, but not the Cuttlebug. Yeah I knew this question would come up. Unfortunately, the crease pad, like the clear cutting plates for these machines, is just a tad too wide to fit through the Cuttlebug's opening. Doesn't that just figure? Is there a work-around? Well, not yet. Yes, I'm an optimist.

I experimented a bit last night, and I thought that I'd toss out some info about the crease pad and what I tried. Maybe someone out there will drop a comment or suggestion and we'll be off and running as far as finding an alternative.

Here's my crease pad. It's the blue layer.

As you can see, it's the same thickness as one of the clear cutting plates, the bottom layer.

It's stiff, but flexible. Firm, but with just enough give to it that a scoring bar on a die won't cut through paper or cardstock, but the blades will.

And here you can see that it's just that little bit too wide to fit through the Cuttlebug. You might even be able to appreciate that even though I've used this mat several times already, there aren't any deep cuts in it like you get in the clear cutting plate. The surface is still fairly smooth with just a few little indentations here and there.

So, as far as alternatives, I wasn't coming up with much that I thought could be a reasonable substitute. Nothing had all of those qualities. The closest I could come up with was stiff rubber gasket, and of course I couldn't find the sheet of gasket that I know is around here somewhere.

I did have this circular piece of gasket. It's slightly stiffer than the silicone embossing mats or fun foam. I tried it with a Nestabilities circle die using the A plate, 2 B plates, and the backing from 3 Cuttlebug embossing folder packages. The die shape was embossed, but the die only partially cut through the cardstock and the cut edges weren't nice and clean. I didn't want to add any more shims because this was a very tight fit already. Cross this idea off the list. It's got too much give to it to be a reasonable cutting surface.

So, right now perhaps the only alternative would be to cut one of these crease pads down to size. If I didn't have just the one crease pad I'd have been tempted to try it. I'm not ready to sacrifice this one though. I'm enjoying using it too much. Sorry, Cuttlebug users. You know I love to experiment for you, but I couldn't go that far. :-) I will say that if you use Nestabilities and like to emboss with them, I've seen the crease pad on sale for as little as $4.50 USD. It might be worth adding to an order if you're already placing one at some place like the Sizzix site or Joann's online. Michael's with a coupon might be an alternative, too.

If anyone has any ideas for a possible crease pad substitute for Cuttlebug users, feel free to chime in. It's a fun accessory to have in the arsenal and I really like using it in my Big Shot with these dies.

Ooooh, clever lady!! I thought I'd have a go at it with a Self-Healing Cutting Mat (4x9") in my Cuttlebug. Unfortunately, it's not as thick as a B Plate so I had to try various sandwiches. Once I got a cut and an embossed image but the embossing was only fair (IMHO). So, I tried a little thicker sandwich (1 extra piece of cardstock) and I cracked a B Plate! (I have extras, so no biggie,) So, for the time being, unless someone else comes up with a better solution, I think I'll make two passes: one to cut and one to emboss:) Thanks for another terrific idea. You're always thinking:)

Ahhh, Cindy, a self-healing mat seems like it would have been very close to the right material. Sorry to hear that it didn't work.

Cheryl, I've seen the red crease pad. I've seen black ones, too. I think that the only difference is the color. The red ones were released with the Big Kick, which is red and white. The blue ones came out with the original blue Big Shot, though the blues don't match. Maybe the black ones that I've seen are meant to go with the new black and pink Big Shot, eh?

Okay, so here's my question about this. Can that blue part be bought as a separate item and then cut to fit the Cuttlebug? I guess I am just one of those die hard people. LOL Thanks in advance for your answer.

I'm a diehard, too, I guess. :-) The crease pad can be bought separately. I got one more from Michael's this morning and cut it down to size. It works! I made a separate post about it a little earlier.

And the extra thick craft foam sheets can work for embossing but fall short as far as being firm enough to use as a cutting surface.

Thanks for visiting my blog and for taking the time to leave a comment. :-) Don't be surprised if your comment doesn't show up right away. Because of the amount of spam being posted these days, I've switched things over to moderated. Legitimate comments will be appreciated, approved, and published in a timely fashion.

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About Me

I'm a midwesterner who loves to read and garden. I grew up in Missouri and am still there some forty odd years later. I've been married to a wonderful guy for 22 years and am a stay-at-home Mom to two girls, who keep me on my toes while they dance on theirs. My current interests include digital photography and digital graphics, in addition to rubber stamping and card making. I also have a two year old buddy who keeps me company while I do all of this.